Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have all progressed without too much drama in the first two rounds of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
With the air clearing from bushfires that have lessened a little over the last few days, the action on court has got the country smiling again. With all three superstars at the top of the men’s rankings (both historically and currently) thriving, Roger Federer won his second round match against Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 to keep his hopes of a 21st Grand Slam alive. One short of Novak Djokovic’s seven Australian Open titles, the Fed Express may be benefitting from taking a little time off before the start of the tournament rather than playing in the ATP Cup. Next up for him is a tie against not just a player but the whole crowd as Federer takes on Aussie favourite John Millman, who eliminated Federer from the U.S. Open back in 2018.
There were equally few problems for the defending champion Novak Djokovic, as the Serbian master triumphed 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 against Japanese player Tatsuma Ito in just over an hour and a half. Having dropped a set in his first round match, Djokovic came through with few issues at all and his 3rd Round throws up another Japanese challenge in the shape of Yoshihito Nishioka. Many pundits expected Britain’s Dan Evans to be Djokovic’s next opponent, but he couldn’t take down Nishioka and departs more focused on the hard-court season later in the year rather than the French Open.
Other seeds found the 2nd Round impossible to escape, with Italian player Matteo Berretini departing in five sets. Losing the first two sets to the amazingly-named Tennys Sandgren, Berretini fought back to level at 2-2. But the final set got away from him 7-5.
Another American winning against the odds was Tommy Paul, who beat Bulgarian player and 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 7-6, (8-6), 3-6, 6-7, (3-7) 7-6 (10-3) in a five-setter that followed the exact same pattern for the underdog, two up, level pegging and having to win it all over again.
Elsewhere, while Coco Gauff, Serena Williams and home crown favourite Ash Barty all flew through to the third round with ease, Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas managed to make it through the 2nd round without needing to play, after his opponent, the German player Philipp Kohlschreiber, retired through injury. Tsitsipas will have to be at his best in Round 3, as he faces the big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic.
Here are the latest odds on the Men’s Australian Open title, with perhaps the Greek player Tsitsipas the best bet for value:
Novak Djokovic – 11/10
Rafael Nadal – 4/1
Roger Federer – 6/1
Daniil Medvedev – 7/1
Stefanos Tsitsipas – 16/1
Dominic Thiem – 22/1
Nick Kyrgios – 33/1
Alexander Zverev – 50/1
